Operation in England: Chest opened with pocket knife
Published: Wednesday, Oct 2nd 2024, 13:20
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A surgeon in England has performed an operation with a Swiss army knife that he normally uses to cut apples. The doctor used the multi-purpose utensil to open the chest, the BBC reported. The patient survived the unusual operation.
The clinic in the southern English city of Brighton spoke of an emergency. It was an urgent procedure and the doctor was unable to find a sterile scalpel. At the same time, the hospital emphasized that the surgeon's actions were "not in line with standard practice and would not have been necessary".
The BBC quoted from internal documents that colleagues had found the behavior "questionable" and were also very surprised that the doctor could not find a scalpel. The clinic has already been criticized for numerous other incidents.
"It surprises and horrifies me," Graeme Poston, an expert witness in clinical negligence, told the public broadcaster. "First of all, a pocket knife is not sterile. Secondly, it's not a surgical instrument. And thirdly, all the equipment must have been there."
According to the BBC, the police are already investigating at least 105 cases of alleged medical negligence at the hospital operator and are considering manslaughter charges.
There is talk of several avoidable deaths during operations and a "climate of fear". The British National Health Service (NHS) is considered to be chronically overburdened and underfunded.
©Keystone/SDA
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